Fire and re-hire redundancy consultation

When the statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement came into force in July 2024 (see Labour Research, September 2024, page 19) it didn’t include any uplift on compensation made through a Protective Award by an Employment Tribunal (ET).

The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (Amendment of Schedule A2) Order 2024 has rectified this.

It means that where an ET awards compensation for an employer’s failure to follow collective redundancy consultation requirements, it can uplift an award by up to 25% for any unreasonable failure to comply with provisions of the Code.

This can be very valuable for redundant workers as a protective award claim can compensate affected workers with up to 90 days’ gross pay.